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The AP US History exam involves critical reading, writing, and in-depth analysis. It's not just about memorizing names and dates, but rather interpreting historical evidence quickly and accurately, recalling outside information on a topic, and synthesizing your ideas into a coherent argument.
- Overview
- AP US history periods and themes
- Example AP US history problems
- Key terms, documents, and court cases to know
Your guide to major themes, documents, and key words for the AP US History exam!
For an overview of major themes in US history, check out this table:
If that's too small to read, here are some close ups of the themes:
We've put together some video examples of how to tackle each section of the AP US history exam. Find them here:
Multiple choice section: How to approach multiple choice questions
Short answer section: How to approach short answer questions
Document-based essay: How to approach the DBQ
Primary documents:
John Winthrop, “City on a Hill” / “A Model of Christian Charity” Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Thomas Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence” James Madison, “Constitution of the United States” Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, “Declaration of Sentiments” Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Harriet Beecher Stowe, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (main ideas) Abraham Lincoln, “House Divided” speech, Second Inaugural Address Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth” (main ideas) Josiah Strong, “Our Country” (main ideas) Upton Sinclair “The Jungle” (main ideas) Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, December 8 1941 address George Kennan, “Long Telegram” Martin Luther King Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, “I Have a Dream” speech Betty Friedan “The Feminine Mystique” (main ideas) Ronald Reagan “Evil Empire” speech
Supreme Court cases:
Marbury v. Madison Dred Scott v. Sanford Plessy v. Ferguson Brown v. Board of Education Roe v. Wade Bush v. Gore
Foreign policy doctrines:
Monroe Doctrine Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine Truman Doctrine Nixon Doctrine Bush Doctrine
Examples of specific and relevant evidence beyond the documents that earn this point include the following if appropriate elaboration is provided: • British investment projects, such as the building of railroads in India and Africa
- Analyzing Sources and Evidence (Primary Sources and Secondary Sources) Content and Sourcing – This involves the ability to describe, select, and evaluate relevant evidence about the past from many different sources.
- Making Historical Connections. Comparison – This skill involves your ability to identify, compare, and evaluate multiple perspectives on a given historical event so you can make conclusions about that event.
- Chronological Reasoning. Causation – This skill relates to your ability to identify, analyze, and evaluate the relationships among historical causes and effects.
- Creating and Supporting a Historical Argument. Argumentation – This involves your ability to create an argument and support it using relevant historical evidence.
Download free-response questions from past AP United States History exams, along with scoring guidelines, sample responses, and scoring distributions.
The AP US History exam covers United States history from 1491 to the present, divided into nine time periods. The exam is scored on a scale from 1 to 5, with a score of 3 or higher often earning college credit (depending on the particular university).
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Oct 11, 2021 · Check out Kaplan's AP US History: Period 3 (1754-1800) Notes for key APUSH takeaways and definitions.
